John Cornyn: Prosecutors should be permitted to carry concealed weapons in the workplace

John Cornyn says prosecutors deserve to be able to defense themselves. (AP Photo)

In response to the recent killings of two Texas prosecutors, Texas Sen. John Cornyn is crafting legislation to allow prosecutors to carry firearms while at work.

Cornyn sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder’s office on Wednesday requesting information on the concealed carry of firearms, noting that prosecutors could carry in courthouses but were exempt in places like their offices and parking facilities.

“Prosecutor safety should start with enabling them to defend themselves from violent attack,” Cornyn wrote in the letter.

Cornyn’s planned legislation comes in the wake of Mike McLelland’s murder, the prosecutor for Kaufman County. McLelland and his wife were shot to death in their home on Saturday night. In January, the assistant district attorney in Kaufman County, Mike Hasse was shot to death. Hasse was killed in a parking lot while walking from his car to the courthouse office.

On Tuesday, Jay Hileman, an assistant district attorney in Houston, announced he was withdrawing from a case, with many speculating he feared for his own life. All three were prosecuting or had prosecuted cases against a white supremacist gang, the Aryan Brotherhood.

Cornyn has been a strong gun rights advocate in the Senate, voting against recent gun control legislation such as a high-capacity weapon ban, background check expansion, and a federal statute punishing straw purchasers.